


The Consequence Of Days and Hours

by carolinecrane



Category: Big Wolf on Campus
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-30
Updated: 2010-09-30
Packaged: 2017-10-12 08:12:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/122784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Beggars Would Ride. Some battles can't be won.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Consequence Of Days and Hours

At the sound of his door opening Merton picked up the tiny box sitting on his desk and dropped it carefully into a drawer, his fingers shaking slightly when he looked up in time to watch Tommy cross the room. He wanted to believe he was doing the right thing; it felt right, and when Tommy stopped in front of his desk and grinned at him he was almost sure it would be okay.

Still, there was a tiny part of him that was just as positive that Lori was wrong. He knew now that she had it in her to set him up, even if the Lori that existed in this reality would never do it. That was if the entire thing with the Djinn and the alternate realities hadn't been a crazy dream. He still hadn't figured out yet whether or not he'd imagined the whole thing; some days he was positive it had all happened exactly the way he remembered it, but other days it seemed impossible.

He'd spent the first few days after he woke up examining everything around him for the slightest difference, trying to find that one tiny clue that would let him know it had all happened. He was sure that if he'd managed to alter his own reality for two whole days that it would leave _some_ mark behind, but after a few days of fruitless searching he'd given up and told himself it was just a really vivid dream. Still, the conversation he'd had with Lori wasn't a dream, and unless she was exacting some kind of cruel revenge on him he had a feeling she'd meant what she said.

The problem was giving Tommy that push Lori had suggested; he had no idea how to do stuff like that, and it wasn't like she'd given him any examples. He tried to be subtle, but it wasn't really one of his strong points. Not when it came to stuff like this, anyway. He'd spent over a week obsessing about it, trying to decide what the perfect gesture would be to show Tommy how much he meant to Merton. Idea after idea was discarded as too obvious, too subtle, too likely to get him killed by a furious werewolf, until finally he'd come up with the perfect plan. It had been staring him in the face the whole time, but it wasn't until he'd nearly run out of ideas that he'd finally remembered.

It had taken another few days to get everything in place, but finally he'd emptied his savings account, sold his copy of _The Book of the Sacred Magic_ for the second time, and hit his parents up for a loan that he'd be paying back through college. It would all be worth it, though, if things went the way he hoped they did tonight.

"Hey, Tommy," he said, smiling up at the other boy. "I didn't think you'd get here this early."

"Came straight from practice," Tommy answered, running a hand through hair still wet from the showers. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Waiting for you," Merton answered, his gaze wandering to the drawer he'd closed just as Tommy walked in. It had seemed like such a good idea just a few minutes ago, but now that Tommy was standing right in front of him he wasn't sure he could go through with it. He had no idea how Tommy would react; maybe he'd think it was weird, or maybe he'd realize right away why Merton had done it and try to let him down gently. Then again, he might just laugh right in Merton's face. Merton couldn't see Tommy doing something like that, but this was different than anything they'd ever been through before. Every opening he'd practiced so diligently for the past few days sounded stupid now, from 'I know it's not your birthday, but…' to 'It's my fault you lost this in the first place'.

Tommy was giving him that look, though, like he was trying to decide whether or not Merton was lying to him. He'd seen it plenty of times over the course of their friendship; usually when he _was_ lying, so he had a feeling Tommy already knew he was hiding something. But he didn't know what, so as long as Merton could think of a good lie before Tommy asked…

"What's in the drawer?"

Merton winced at the sound of Tommy's voice, cursing the blush creeping up his neck and into his cheeks. "What drawer?"

"The one you slammed shut when I came in," Tommy answered, a bemused grin turning up the corners of his mouth. "Come on, buddy, what're you hiding?"

He knew it wouldn't do him any good to deny it; his face felt like it was on fire, and Tommy would notice that even if he didn't notice the way Merton's hands were shaking. All he could do was go through with it and hope all his careful planning didn't backfire.

"It's no big deal," he began, each word making his face flush a deeper shade of crimson. He reached for the drawer again, pulling it open and carefully retrieving a small, wrapped box. He'd spent the better part of an hour getting the wrapping just right, and that was only after spending an entire day trying to decide whether or not he should wrap it at all. "I just…I wanted…here."

He thrust the box forward so forcefully that it collided with Tommy's chest. Tommy reached up and closed his hand around Merton's briefly – the touch only lasted a second before Tommy pulled the box out of his hand, but it was enough to make Merton's heart beat wildly against his ribcage. "You got me a present?"

"Yes. Not really. Sort of. Just open it."

 _That was smooth,_ Merton thought, rolling his eyes at himself as he watched Tommy stare down at the box resting in his hand. It felt like forever before the other boy moved, but finally Tommy glanced up at him again and reached for the thin blue ribbon Merton had spent twenty minutes tying. He snapped it easily, tossing it on Merton's desk before he slid a finger under the paper. The entire time Tommy unwrapped his gift Merton's gaze was glued to his face, his embarrassment eclipsed for the moment by the fear that Tommy was going to jump to the wrong conclusion as soon as he opened the box. Or even worse, that he'd jump to the right conclusion.

Finally Tommy managed to unwrap the box, dropping the silver paper on Merton's desk next to the ribbon. He stole another quick glance at Merton before he looked down again, pulling the top off the box to reveal his John Elway card nestled on a bed of tissue paper. For one long, heart-stopping moment Tommy didn't react, then he looked up at Merton with a mixture of awe and confusion. "How did you…Merton, this cost a fortune."

Merton shrugged and tried to look less nervous than he was. "It wasn't that bad. Besides, it's my fault you had to sell it in the first place. So you know…thanks. For saving my life."

If Tommy noticed how lame that sounded he was nice enough not to point it out; instead he looked back down at the card again, shaking his head as though he was trying to convince himself that he was imagining things. When he did look up again his expression was unreadable, but it made Merton's pulse race in a way that wasn't entirely unfamiliar. "Merton, you're a lot more important than a John Elway card."

He'd been waiting to hear those very words since Tommy first told him about selling the trading card to get the cure from Fong. He'd imagined them more than once over the past few months, but even in his imagination he wouldn't have been able to predict the warmth that spread through his extremities at the sound of Tommy's voice. Of course, if this was anything like his fantasies about this moment, Tommy wouldn't still be staring down at the card as though it was made of gold. He'd be a lot more interested in Merton; more specifically, he'd be a lot more interested in showing Merton how much he appreciated his present.

"It's no big deal," Merton repeated when he couldn't stand the silence anymore.

Now was the moment when Tommy was supposed to tell him that it was a big deal, that no one had ever done anything like that for him before. He was supposed to say something about how much their friendship meant to him, then look at Merton meaningfully, and suddenly they'd both know…but that wasn't what happened. Instead Tommy just shook his head and gave Merton a wry grin, then he took a step forward and clapped Merton on the shoulder. "I know how much this cost, buddy. It's a big deal."

Merton opened his mouth to argue, to say anything to draw the conversation around to why he'd done it in the first place. He didn't want to just blurt out the truth; Tommy was supposed to ask, possibly draw it out of him until Merton had no choice but to confess all his feelings. That was the way these things were supposed to work, but instead Tommy just pulled his hand away from Merton's shoulder and set the box down on the corner of the desk. "Thanks, Merton. I'll pay you back someday."

"Tommy, it was a present. You're not supposed to offer to pay me back," Merton said, hoping Tommy would assume his exasperation was due to the offer of payment and not his disappointment over Tommy's reaction.

"Right," Tommy said. He held Merton's gaze for another beat, but before Merton figured out what the other boy's expression meant Tommy was turning away from him. "So what are we watching?"

Maybe Lori was wrong, Merton told himself as he watched Tommy cross to his DVD collection. Maybe Tommy's distraction had never been about him; maybe he was just an excuse Tommy used because he wasn't ready to be in a serious relationship. It was possible that the werewolf thing was still too new when he dated Lori, maybe if they went out again Tommy would be a better boyfriend. Whatever the reason their relationship failed, Merton was starting to think it had nothing to do with him. It couldn't, otherwise Tommy would have realized that that wasn't just any gift. Wouldn't he?

He was more confused than ever now, but he did his best to shake it off when he heard Tommy say something about a movie in Merton's collection. They were still friends, that was the important thing. At least Tommy hadn't gotten all weird and made up some excuse about why he couldn't stay. That was really the best Merton could hope for, especially if he and Lori had been wrong about the way Tommy felt about him. He told himself he could deal with the fact that Tommy wasn't interested in him; he'd been dealing with it for a long time now, so he could get through watching a movie with his best friend.

~

Sitting through a movie with Tommy hadn't seemed like a big deal. They'd done it plenty of times over the past few months, after all, and it was better than going to The Factory and having most of Tommy's attention taken up by the kids from school who wanted to pat him on the back about football or flirt with him. Merton was almost positive that Tommy didn't realize how many people tried to flirt with him; it wasn't even just the girls, but Tommy never seemed to notice any of it.

That was why Merton liked having Tommy all to himself; even if nothing ever happened between them, at least he got Tommy's undivided attention while they were alone. Tonight, though, he could have lived without so much of Tommy's attention, because he was sure the other boy could tell he was slowly going insane. He'd tried everything he could think of to distract himself from the fact that his plan had fallen flat, but no matter what he did he couldn't stop thinking about the box sitting on the edge of his desk.

It wasn't the fact that he'd spent his entire life savings to get Tommy's John Elway card back for him. It wasn't even that the gift was a lot more significant because of the reason Tommy had sold the card in the first place. No, the real reason he couldn't stop thinking about it was because he couldn't figure out Tommy's reaction. Surprise he would have expected, or maybe even a little awkward tension when Tommy realized just how far Merton was willing to go to make him happy. Even if Tommy had flat out refused to accept the card it would have been better than this…this _nothing_.

Two minutes after he opened the box Tommy was acting like nothing had happened, and Merton wasn't sure what to think about it. He thought he was being pretty clear; granted, Tommy wasn't always that good at taking a hint, but even he should have been able to catch on to this one. At least Merton had assumed he would, but aside from a couple sidelong glances during the movie Tommy hadn't even acknowledged his presence for almost two hours.

He'd been so sure that Lori was right, but now he was starting to think that he'd just believed her because he wanted it to be true. And maybe Tommy's lack of interest in him would have been bearable if he had never made those wishes, but now that he knew how it felt to kiss Tommy he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to think of him as just a friend ever again.

He was so puzzled by Tommy's reaction to his gift that it was almost a relief when the other boy stood up, yawned noiselessly, and announced that he had to get home so he could be up early for the last game of the season. Which was how he found himself alone, sitting at his desk, staring listlessly at the slightly crumpled wrapping paper still sitting on the desk in front of him. After all the time he'd spent planning and wrapping and getting everything just right, it didn't seem fair that it was all over in just a few minutes. Maybe he should have said something else, made it clear somehow what he was trying to tell Tommy. Maybe he should have just come right out and said how he felt, or told him about those two days with the Djinn and let Tommy take it from there.

Then again, if he couldn't figure out what that gift meant, he might not get it even if Merton hit him over the head with the truth. Merton scowled and picked up the wrapping paper Tommy had left on his desk, crushing it into a ball and dropping it in the wastebasket next to his desk. He was still scowling at the crumpled remains of the paper when his door swung open again, and his heart leapt into his throat as he looked up in time to watch Tommy walk back into his room.

"Tommy, what…?"

That was as far as he got before he registered the look on the other boy's face, panic stealing the words from his throat as he wondered what had happened between now and when Tommy had left for home. Before he found his voice again Tommy was already across the room, eyes wide as he pulled Merton out of his chair and wrapped strong arms around him. _Okay,_ Merton said to himself as he tentatively slid his own arms around Tommy's waist, _delayed reaction. I can deal with this_.

As soon as he thought it Tommy pulled away to look at him again, his eyes searching Merton's face as though he'd never seen the other boy before. "I thought…" Tommy began, only to pause when his voice caught in his throat. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes, taking a minute to pull himself together before he looked at Merton again. "I didn't know. I'm so sorry, Merton."

He felt heat creeping into his cheeks as he smiled at Tommy, his arms tightening instinctively around the other boy's waist. "It's okay. I'm just glad you figured it out."

"Figured it out? Is this some kind of game to you?" Tommy's whole body tensed a moment before he wrenched himself away from Merton, his eyes taking on the same wide-eyed panic they'd held when he first walked back into the room.

"What?" Merton muttered, his mind still stuck on the word 'game'. He had no idea what Tommy was talking about, but he suddenly looked angry and Merton was sure it was because of whatever he'd said. "Tommy, what are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Tommy shot back, and just for a second Merton had a strange feeling that maybe he should. He shook off the misplaced guilt and crossed his arms over his chest, feeling suddenly cold despite the fact that he was still blushing furiously.

"No I don't, Tommy. I've been alone in my room since you left half an hour ago. Whatever happened…did you talk to Lori or something?"

"Lori…? Merton, I haven't seen you since that…that thing…that psycho genie made you disappear."

It wasn't so much the fear in Tommy's eyes that made Merton's blood run cold. At first he wasn't sure what the other boy was talking about, but as soon as he realized what Tommy meant his heart stilled in his chest and he prayed fervently to whoever was listening that he'd heard wrong. "That…what?" he asked in a very quiet voice, as though he thought whispering might soften the meaning behind Tommy's words.

"The…what'd you call it again?"

"The Djinn?"

"Yeah, that's it. One minute you were telling me some crazy story about how we'd never really been together, and the next minute you and the Djinn are just gone. Where the hell have you been, Merton? I've been going crazy."

It took Merton a full minute to understand what Tommy was telling him, but when the truth finally sank in his heart sank. This wasn't happening. It just couldn't; it wasn't possible, because he'd wished all that away and now everything was back to normal. He had to be dreaming, and any minute now he'd wake up alone and this would all be over. Or better yet, he'd wake up at the end of the movie and the real Tommy would still be here, waiting to ask Merton the real reason he'd given him such an expensive gift when it wasn't even his birthday.

He turned his back on Tommy and reached for the phone, dialing the number he knew by heart. When the line connected and a familiar voice said hello his heart lurched again, this time lodging in his throat. "Tommy?" he whispered, stealing a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure the hallucination of Tommy was still standing in the center of the lair.

"Merton? I can barely hear you, buddy. What's up?"

Merton opened his mouth to tell Tommy what was going on, to ask the other boy what he was supposed to do with a Tommy from an alternate reality, but he realized just in time what that meant. If he told Tommy about his double he'd have to tell his best friend about the Djinn, which meant telling him about the wishes, which meant admitting everything. He couldn't do that, at least not until he figured out what was going on. "Uh…nothing," he heard himself say, his gaze still focused on the Tommy clone standing a few feet away. "Just making sure you got home okay."

"Merton, it's like a five minute walk from my place to yours." Tommy paused and Merton could practically see the wheels turning in the other boy's head even though the real Tommy was already safely in his own house. "You've been acting kind of weird for a couple days now. Are you sure there's not something you want to tell me?"

The suspicion in Tommy's voice was bad enough, but when he glanced up at his unexpected visitor he found the other Tommy eyeing him curiously, and he was positive that any second he'd ask who Merton was talking to. It was possible that Tommy wouldn't recognize the sound of his own voice, but Merton wasn't taking any chances. Not when he was already so confused he could barely think straight, anyway. "No…I mean there's nothing to tell. I'll just talk to you tomorrow."

He heard Tommy's voice in his ear again, but he was too busy watching the other Tommy cross his bedroom to listen to what his best friend was saying. Just as Tommy reached him he set the phone down, wincing when he realized that hanging up on Tommy was just going to make him even more suspicious. There was nothing else he could do, though; he'd seen that expression on his best friend's face before, and he knew what it meant.

"Who was that?"

"Nobody," he answered, although he knew that wasn't going to be good enough. He'd seen Tommy jealous enough times to assume that this Tommy wouldn't be that much different, and by the slight yellow glow in the other boy's eyes he was pretty sure this Tommy was jealous. "Look, T-Tommy…we need to talk."

"Yeah, we do, starting with you telling me who was on the phone."

Under any other circumstances – say if it were _his_ Tommy pouting at him right now – Merton would have laughed at that. He might have even thought the jealousy routine was kind of cute, but under the circumstances he was too worried to find anything cute or even funny. The truth was that Tommy could get curious enough to come back and walk in on them, only to find himself already standing in the middle of the Lair. Merton had no idea how he would explain that without telling them both the truth, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"It doesn't matter," he answered, hoping he could distract Tommy from the subject of the phone call long enough to make him understand what was happening. Not that Merton understood what was happening, but this was Tommy – sort of, anyway – and if anybody could understand something this weird, it was his best friend. "Look, you're not supposed to be here. Look around you – do you see anything different? Anything that doesn't belong, maybe?"

"What are you talking about? It's your room, Merton. It looks the same as it always does." Tommy's forehead was furrowed with that cute-and-confused look Merton had always loved, but he could almost see the wheels starting to turn in the other boy's head as he looked around. "That picture of us from the last play I did…you took it down."

"No I didn't," Merton answered, following Tommy's gaze to the bookshelf lining one wall of the Lair. "I couldn't take it down, because it never existed. The Tommy in this world isn't in drama. He's too busy with the football team."

A short, derisive laugh escaped Tommy's throat at that, but Merton could tell by the look on his face that he was starting to get a little worried. "Football? That's crazy, Merton. When would I have time for football?" He shook his head and took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them to rest one hand on Merton's shoulder. "Look, maybe the talking should wait until tomorrow. You're not making a lot of sense here."

"Yes I am." He knew he should take a step backwards, put enough distance between them to keep them both thinking straight. The weight of Tommy's hand on his shoulder was soothing, though, and he still hadn't forgotten how it felt to kiss this version of his best friend. "Don't you remember…right before I disappeared I told you it was all a wish. That wasn't a crazy story, Tommy. It was true, only I wished it away when I made my last wish. The thing I don't get is what you're doing here. That timeline should have disappeared when the wish was erased."

He'd just assumed when he wished that he'd never bought the bottle that everything would go back to the way it had been in the first place, but now he was stuck with two Tommys and no Djinn to explain or put things back they way they were supposed to be. If he hadn't just talked to Tommy on the phone he'd think the other boy was playing some kind of elaborate joke on him just to pay him back for making the wish in the first place, but there was no way Tommy could know about any of it. Even if he could know Merton would be able to tell, because Tommy had never been the type of guy who could keep his feelings in check for long.

"I don't get it," Tommy said. "How could my whole life suddenly be different?"

"Because it's not your life…" Merton began, but he trailed off when he caught the flash of panic in the other boy's eyes. He knew he was just making things worse, but he had to find a way to explain to this Tommy why he had to go back wherever he came from before someone else saw him. "Okay, let's try this again. Do you remember the wish I made?"

"Merton, come on. I get it now, okay? You don't have to keep pretending."

"Tommy, I'm not…"

"No," Tommy interrupted, his free hand coming up to trace the curve of Merton's jaw. "I know you were jealous because I was spending so much time with Lori. I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know it bugged you that much, if I did I wouldn't have done it. So can we just drop all this wish stuff? It's not even possible."

"Sure, Tommy. It's impossible. Just like vampires and undead zombie boyfriends. And werewolves."

And okay, so maybe that wasn't exactly the subtle approach he was going for, but he hated it when Tommy tried to humor him. Especially _this_ Tommy, who wasn't _his_ Tommy. His Tommy was already back home in bed, probably dreaming of some supermodel who definitely wasn't male and definitely wasn't Merton. Which just made the fact that this Tommy wanted him even harder to take, because it wasn't like Merton could send him home. He was going to have to spend the night in the Lair, and the last thing Merton needed right now was a willing facsimile of his best friend sleeping on his couch.

"Look, it's not impossible, okay? I don't know what happened to me…I mean your me…I mean the Merton who lives in your world. All I know is I made a couple stupid wishes that got out of hand, and then I fixed them. At least I thought I did. The question is, how did you get here?"

"So you're telling me that you're not…I mean we're not…"

Tommy sat down hard on the edge of Merton's bed, his expression a mixture of confusion and misery. Instantly Merton felt guilty for being less than sensitive; it was natural for Tommy to be confused, after all, and really Merton was the one who set this whole thing in motion. Which meant he was the one who was going to have to fix it, but he had no idea how to start. "Look, maybe we should start at the beginning. Tell me what happened after the last time you saw me."

"I already told you. One minute the genie or whatever was telling you to make a wish, and then you made it and you both just disappeared. Nobody's seen you for almost a week, Merton. Your parents called the cops and everything."

That news was disturbing enough to make Merton's knees wobble a little, and he sat down on the bed next to Tommy before he remembered why that was a bad idea. "So I'm just…I mean I made a wish in this universe and the Merton you know just…disappeared?"

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen; everything was supposed to go back to the way it was when he unwished his wish, only he'd never thought to take alternate universes into account. He couldn't have known, really, but that didn't make him feel any better now that he knew he'd wished himself – well, sort of anyway – out of existence.

"But you're here now," Tommy said, and he looked so hopeful that Merton's heart plummeted into his stomach. "When I saw your light on and then I found you here…everything's okay now."

"No," Merton answered, shaking his head as he tried to make sense of what they knew so far. "It's not, Tommy. You don't belong here. You – I mean the other Tommy, the one who lives in this universe – he just left here a few minutes before you showed up. If you'd walked in any sooner you would have come face to face with yourself. You can see how that would be kind of a problem."

Tommy shook his head and Merton could tell he was still having a hard time believing it, but short of calling Tommy again and asking him to come over he wasn't sure how to convince him. There was no real way to prove he wasn't the Merton this Tommy wanted him to be, and even if he could it still didn't solve their problem. The real problem was that he didn't have the first clue how to solve any of the problems he'd created; he didn't even know what the Djinn had wanted in exchange for his wishes, let alone what could have happened to the other Mertons. And that was going to be hard enough to get used to as it was, thinking about carbon copies of himself floating around in alternate dimensions. The best thing he could do was to get this Tommy back to his own reality as quickly as possible and hope the other Tommy didn't come looking for his own missing best friend.

"Maybe…" Tommy began, then trailed off and cleared his throat before he looked up at Merton again. "Maybe you should tell me exactly what you wished."

"You were there, you heard me."

"No, I mean the first two," Tommy said, raising an eyebrow when Merton squirmed uncomfortably. "Look, I already know the gist of it, right? Besides, it might help us figure this out if I know exactly what you said."

"I don't see how…" Merton began, but he trailed off when Tommy glared at him. "Fine. I don't remember the exact words, but the first time it was something to the affect of wishing that you – that Tommy – wanted me." His cheeks were blazing by the time he finished his sentence, but when he glanced at the other boy he wasn't laughing.

"Why'd you have to wish for that?" Tommy asked, and for a second Merton thought maybe he was making fun of him. Only he looked genuinely confused, and something about that made Merton feel even more stupid about the whole situation. "I mean don't I – doesn't the Tommy in this reality – doesn't he already want you?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know, that's the whole point," Merton answered, his cheeks burning so hot now that he was sure he'd burst into flames any second. "He never acted like he did. As far as I know he's still hoping to get back together with Lori."

"Wait. You seriously expect me to believe I went out with Lori?"

Merton rolled his eyes at the vaguely disgusted look on the other boy's face. "It's not you, that's the whole point. Look, I made the first wish and the Tommy I got that time was completely different from you. He wanted me, alright, but he didn't want to be my boyfriend. He just wanted…you know. He said it couldn't be more than that, because the captain of the football team couldn't date a guy." He shuddered a little at the memory of that Tommy, suddenly realizing why his best friend had seemed off that night. It was because that wasn't the Tommy he'd spent most of senior year hanging out with; it was some other version of his best friend, the same body and the same voice but different all the same.

"Jesus. You're telling me there's some version of me out there who's a homophobe?"

"Well I wouldn't be that hard on him. I mean high school, the football team, being popular. It's a lot to risk. Maybe he's just scared."

The look Tommy shot him let Merton know exactly what he thought of that argument, and just for a second he almost wished that he'd stayed in the universe that this Tommy belonged to. "The whole school knows about me and you. Me and Merton. Whatever. The point is the whole school knows and if they don't like it that's their problem."

Merton shrugged and glanced at the clock; it was getting late, and he knew if he didn't get some sleep he'd be miserable at school tomorrow. He was pretty sure he wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight, though, especially not with this version of Tommy just a few feet away. "Look, each universe is a little different, right? Maybe his was – I don't know, really closed-minded or something."

"So did you…? I mean with the homophobic me."

"No," Merton answered, his cheeks flushing a little at the thought of the way that other Tommy had kissed him. It had been different than the way this Tommy kissed, but there was definitely something familiar about both of them. "No, I wanted to slow down and he…didn't. So he just said forget it and left. When I went to school the next day Tommy was totally normal again, just like nothing ever happened. I kind of thought maybe I'd dreamed the whole thing until the Djinn showed up again."

"So what was your second wish?" Tommy asked, and Merton's blush deepened as he stole a glance at the other boy.

"Well the first one didn't work out exactly the way I expected it to; that's the way it works with Djinns, they try to cheat you out of your wishes by giving you what you asked for in a different way than what you imagined. So the second time I tried to word the wish so there wouldn't be any room for tricks."

"Merton, what did you wish?"

He really didn't want to say it out loud, especially not to Tommy. Even if it wasn't the Tommy he'd spent the last eight months hanging out with it was still Tommy, and it was still humiliating to have to admit he'd needed the wishes in the first place. Especially when the Tommy sitting next to him was already out and obviously crazy about his own version of Merton. "I wished for you – Tommy – to be my boyfriend, just like he was with Lori, until I broke up with you. Him. Well, you, as it turned out."

"So you got me, because there's no way I'd ever break up with Merton."

"Well yeah. I mean you were kind of too busy with Lori to think about breaking up with me." And maybe he shouldn't have said that out loud; it wasn't like it was really his relationship, after all, but he'd spent enough time in that universe to remember what it felt like when Tommy blew him off in favor of Lori. It hurt enough in the one day he was there, so he could only imagine how that other Merton felt.

He expected Tommy to get mad, to tell him that wasn't how it was and he couldn't know what he was talking about after just a day. But Tommy didn't say anything, and when Merton finally turned to look at him he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. For a crazy moment he was sure Tommy was mad enough to kill him, but then another hand landed on his chin and suddenly Tommy's face was just an inch away from his. "I'm sorry," Tommy whispered, his breath warming Merton's cheek and sending a fresh shiver down his spine. "I didn't know…I should have, I just wasn't paying attention."

Merton knew what was coming next, and he knew he had to stop it. There was a voice in his head shouting at him that this wasn't right, that he had to stop before things got out of hand. Tommy wasn't talking to him; he wasn't thinking about him, he was thinking of his own version of Merton, the version of himself that Merton had managed to cancel out of existence somehow. He had no idea if it was possible to get that version of Merton back, but he knew he couldn't be it. Only Tommy's mouth felt warm against his, and Tommy's hand felt better in his hair than he remembered from those few kisses they'd shared during his second wish.

Before he could stop himself Merton's hands curled around the front of Tommy's shirt, pulling him even closer. His lips parted under the insistent pressure of Tommy's mouth, and he swallowed a gasp when he felt Tommy's tongue slide against his own. His fingers flexed so hard against Tommy's chest that his knuckles turned white, but he was too busy trying to talk himself into pulling away to notice. It had to be the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life, but he reminded himself that Tommy wasn't really kissing _him_ and pulled back with enough force to fall off the bed. The only thing that stopped him was Tommy's hand still holding onto his shoulder, and he felt himself blush again as he regained his balance and slowly pulled his hands away from the other boy's chest.

"We can't do this," he said, his voice so low that he wasn't even sure if Tommy could hear him. "I'm not him."

"Merton…"

"No, Tommy. I'm not. Think about it – if he walked in here right now, what would he think?" Merton knew exactly what his Tommy would think if he walked in on them right now, and as much as he wished he could make himself not care, he knew it was a losing battle. No matter how much this Tommy sounded like his Tommy he would never be the same, and even if Merton never got what he really wanted from his Tommy he wouldn't give up their friendship for anything.

Tommy straightened up and let go of Merton's shoulder, standing up and turning his back on the other boy. "You mean you're worried about what would happen if _he_ showed up again."

And now they were talking in circles, but it didn't even matter which theoretical doppelganger they were talking about, because the result would be the same either way. "Well, yeah. He's my best friend, it probably wouldn't go over that well if he walked in on…this." Merton gestured vaguely between them, forgetting that Tommy couldn't actually see him while his back was turned.

"Yeah, I get it, Merton." Tommy squared his shoulders and glanced over his shoulder without quite meeting Merton's gaze. "Just forget it."

As soon as he realized what Tommy was planning Merton stepped forward, reaching out and grabbing the other boy's hand before he could reach the door to the Lair. "You can't leave."

He felt Tommy's muscles tense under his hand, a wave of regret washing over him when he realized he could still be back on his bed with all that strength pressing him into the mattress. And it wasn't fair that the thing he'd wanted all this time was finally right in front of him, and he couldn't have it. Not if he wanted to keep Tommy as his friend, anyway, and he was pretty sure this Tommy would regret it if they actually went through with it. None of that made him feel any better, though, especially when Tommy turned around and fixed him with a yellow-tinged glare.

"Look, Tommy," Merton began, his heart beating so loud he was sure Tommy would hear it, "where are you gonna go? You can't go home. You're already there, remember? I don't know how to get you back to your own world, unless you came through some portal you forgot to mention."

"I told you, I was just walking by and I saw your light on."

"That's it? You're sure? You just left your house and came over here?" Merton knew they had to be missing something, but he also knew that Tommy wasn't exactly the type to pay attention to details. Still, if he could get the other boy to remember anything that he might not think was important, maybe they could figure out how he got here and how to get him back.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Can we not talk about this anymore?" Tommy shook out of his grip and turned away from him again, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he pretended to be fascinated with Merton's bookshelves.

Tommy refusing to look him in the eye was definitely a sign that there was something wrong, and Merton got the feeling it wasn't just the interrupted kiss. "If we don't talk about it how are we going to figure out how to fix it?" he asked, taking a few hesitant steps toward Tommy before he stopped again. "Just think, Tommy. Did you see anything on your way over, anything at all that might not have belonged there? Did you see anybody?"

"It doesn't matter, Merton," Tommy answered, his tone a mixture of sadness and exasperation. "I wanted to find you, and that's what I did. Why would I even want to go back?"

"You can't…" Merton trailed off, the words 'stay here' dying on his lips as he studied Tommy's profile. And now he was sure that he was missing something important, because Tommy definitely looked guilty. "Wait a second. You wanted to find me – so what did you do?"

"Nothing. Forget it."

"Forget it? Tommy, do you realize what we're talking about here? Para-dimensional travel is really complicated. It's not like you can just build a simple time machine and pop in and out of your own life. In fact, I don't know one person who's actually managed it until the…Djinn. Oh, no. Tell me you didn't."

He didn't have to hear the words out loud to know that he was right, because the look on Tommy's face spoke volumes. In that moment Merton's stomach dropped down to his knees, and he felt his knees start to buckle. If Tommy had summoned the Djinn again…but he must have, because there was no other way he could be standing here right now.

"Look, Merton, I had to, alright?" Tommy said, but Merton could barely hear him through the thoughts racing through his mind. He thought he'd gotten rid of the Djinn when he unwished his first two wishes; he'd been stupid enough to think he'd outsmarted it, that he'd gotten away with something that no one in any of his magic books had ever been able to do. He'd been arrogant enough to think he could just put it all behind him and forget about it, and now he was stuck with an extra best friend and an all-powerful mythical creature that was going to show up any second and start demanding Tommy make his next wish.

"When…when did you make your first wish?"

"About five minutes before I came over here and found you," Tommy answered. "Look, Merton, I had to. Nobody knew where you were, your parents were going nuts, the cops kept talking about runaways. Becky was a mess, and I couldn't think about anything except finding you. I had to do it, it was the only way."

"Only you didn't find him, Tommy. You found me. So the question is, what happened to the me from your world?"

~

"Hey, Merton, wait up."

Merton managed not to flinch at the sound of Tommy's voice, but when he felt an arm slide around his shoulders he couldn't stop his body from reacting. The touch felt familiar in a way he knew it shouldn't, memories of Tommy's mouth on his and Tommy's hands in his hair flooding back to him as he eased out of Tommy's grip.

"Hey, Tommy," he said without quite meeting the other boy's gaze. "I'm in kind of a hurry here."

"What's up?" Tommy asked, falling easily in step next to Merton. "Is there some new bad guy I need to take out for you?"

"No," Merton answered a little too quickly, wincing at the sound of panic in his own voice. "I just…I told my mom I'd…uh…clean out the basement."

"Merton, you _live_ in the basement." Tommy stopped in the middle of the hall and reached for his arm, stopping Merton before he could reach the front door of the school. "Come on, Merton, what gives? You've been acting weird all day."

"Everything's fine, I swear," Merton said, doing his best to look as innocent as possible. He had a feeling from the way Tommy was frowning at him that he wasn't buying it, but there was no way he could tell the other boy the truth. Even though part of him really wanted to. "Just looking forward to getting home and cleaning my room. You know how I like order."

He smiled apologetically and slipped out of Tommy's grip again, ducking into the crowd of students headed out of the school before Tommy could stop him. It was bad enough that he was lying to his best friend now, but he could barely look Tommy in the eyes now that he knew what it felt like to kiss him. Every time he thought about it he blushed, and there was no way he could hide that forever. Even if Tommy wasn't the most observant guy in the world he'd catch on eventually, and even though Merton had spent all day trying to come up with a plausible explanation for having an extra best friend lying around he'd come up empty. This was one problem he was just going to have to solve without any help from Tommy – well, not from _his_ Tommy anyway – but he could handle it. He was the brains of the outfit, after all, and if anyone in Pleasantville could figure out how to deal with an angry Djinn and a little paradimensional transport, it was him.

He drove home as fast as after-school traffic would allow, his nerves on edge as he pulled up in front of his house. There was no telling what he would find when he got inside; he'd told the other Tommy that if the Djinn showed up while he was at school he should try to stall him, but there was no telling what might have happened if the Djinn was angry enough. They still didn't know much at all about Djinns and what they expected as payment for the wishes they granted. When he left for school Tommy was flipping idly through the books in his room, but Merton could tell he was doing more brooding than actual research. He couldn't understand why Merton wasn't blowing off school to help him figure out how to fix the situation; Merton had tried explaining that the surest way to get the real Tommy to come over was to ditch school, but that had just made Tommy pout even more. Of course, referring to his Tommy as 'the real Tommy' probably hadn't been the best idea he'd ever had.

It was possible that Tommy had been mad enough to wish himself home; Merton told himself that would be for the best, but he couldn't deny that part of him hated the idea. It was purely scientific interest, of course. He'd been telling himself all day that the only reason he hoped Tommy was still there when he got home was so he could do more research, maybe help the other boy figure out what had happened to his version of Merton. It was the least he could do, really; he was the reason the other Merton had disappeared in the first place, after all, so if he could figure out a way to get that Merton back he wanted to try.

And okay, maybe it wasn't totally selfless. He kind of liked the idea of there being some version of him out there that a version of Tommy actually wanted. It was obvious he wasn't going to get that with his version of Tommy, but at least if he knew they were out there and they were really in love…not that anyone had mentioned love, but if Tommy had gone through all this to find him then he must love him, right? No, Tommy loved _that_ Merton, he reminded himself as he pushed open his bedroom door and looked around. The flood of relief that washed over him when he saw Tommy sitting at his desk actually hurt, and he had to lean against the door for a second while he waited for his breath to catch up with him.

"Hey," Tommy said when he looked up and saw Merton standing at the door. "Did you have a hard time ditching…well, me?"

"No," Merton said, wincing as he remembered the look on Tommy's face when Merton had lied to him.

"Let me guess, he wanted to know where you were running off to, right?" Tommy grinned and Merton's heart skipped a beat, but he did his best to ignore it and focus on the fact that this wasn't his best friend. It was a perfect reproduction, but the truth was that he and this Tommy – well, they were practically strangers. Sort of. "Yeah, I can be kind of stubborn when I think something's going on. And you're terrible at playing it cool."

"Thanks," Merton muttered, but he knew Tommy was right. So maybe this Tommy did know him a little better than he wanted to let himself believe. Or maybe his universe and this Tommy's universe were just really similar; it would explain why the Djinn had sent him there in the first place, anyway. It just figured he'd get stuck in the almost-perfect universe where Tommy was his best friend but didn't want to be anything more than that. "So did the Djinn show up?"

"No," Tommy answered, "but I found some interesting stuff online. Come here and look at this."

"Wait a second," Merton said, dropping his backpack next to the door before he made his way across the room. "You're doing research? On your own?"

Tommy shrugged as though this was the sort of thing that happened every day. And maybe it did in his world; for all Merton knew, this Tommy could be a straight A student. He wasn't on the football team, anyway, and drama probably didn't take up as much of his studying time as football practices would. "Trying, anyway. There's not a lot of information about Djinns out there, but I think I finally found something. There's this guy in Egypt who's got a whole research paper about the mythology. I think it's his doctoral thesis or something."

It took a few seconds for Merton to close his mouth, and another few seconds to find his voice again. He didn't think of Tommy as stupid – he knew Tommy was smart, it was just that stuff like this didn't come naturally to him the way it did to Merton – but until this moment he'd never expected to hear the words 'mythology' or even 'thesis' come out of his best friend's mouth. "Wait a second. Are you telling me…you can read Egyptian?"

Tommy rolled his eyes and stood up, pushing Merton into the chair and pointing at the screen. "It's in English, genius. Where would I learn Egyptian?"

"I don't know," Merton murmured, glancing over his shoulder at Tommy as the other boy leaned over him. "There are a lot of things about you I don't know."

As soon as the words escaped his lips Tommy looked down at him, and just for a second Merton forgot all about Djinns and alternate universes and stupid, selfish wishes for things he could never have. What he wanted – what he'd always wanted more than anything – was right here, less than a foot away from him. He could feel the warm weight of Tommy's hand on his shoulder, and he knew that if he kept staring that any second now Tommy would lean forward and kiss him again. It was inevitable, like a magnetic force pulling them toward each other. He knew he should do something to stop it, but he was paralyzed by the look in Tommy's eyes and the burn of his fingers through the thin cotton of Merton's shirt.

He wasn't going to stop Tommy from kissing him. They both knew it, and judging from the crooked grin tugging at the corners of Tommy's mouth he wasn't going to argue. Merton wasn't sure how he managed to get closer without moving at all, but suddenly he could feel Tommy's breath on his cheek and he felt his chair spinning toward the other boy in slow motion. Any second now Tommy would lean forward the rest of the way, maybe trap Merton in t he chair with a hand on either side of him the way Merton had pictured it a thousand times when Tommy was standing behind him reading over his shoulder. Maybe this was just another fantasy, but if it was it was the most vivid one he'd ever had and he knew there was no way he could stop it.

There was, however, one person who could.

The sound of his door slamming didn't register right away, but when he felt Tommy tense and straighten up he realized that they weren't alone anymore. _Please let it be the Djinn, please let it be the Djinn_ , he thought to himself as he spun back toward the door, ignoring the annoyingly logical voice in his head reminding him that Djinns didn't generally have the manners to knock. Then again, neither did Tommy, and when Merton finally looked up his best friend was standing in the center of his room, eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

"Tommy," Merton squeaked, although even he wasn't sure which one of them he was addressing. "What…what are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you wanted any help," Tommy answered, his eyes never leaving his mirror image. "Merton, what the hell…?"

"It's not what you think," Merton said, standing up way too quickly and nearly knocking over the chair and the extra Tommy.

"I don't even know what to think," Tommy said, his forehead furrowing in the cute-and-confused expression that normally did all kinds of strange things to Merton's stomach. But at the moment his stomach was already housing an entire flock of very nervous butterflies, and he knew if he let Tommy's expression distract him he'd just end up throwing up on his own shoes. "What did…I mean did you…is that _me_?"

Okay, he was confused enough to miss the fact that his twin had been about to kiss Merton when he walked in on them; that was a good thing, Merton reminded himself. It wasn't much of a silver lining, but he'd take what he could get. At least it would make explaining this whole mess a little easier – that was, as soon as he thought up an explanation that he had a prayer of getting Tommy to buy.

"Here's the thing."

The voice startled both of them; Merton because he'd forgotten for a second that there was another whole Tommy standing behind him, and the other Tommy because he'd probably never heard his own voice come out of somebody else's mouth before. They both turned to look at the Tommy who was leaning against Merton's desk, his arms crossed over his chest as he sized up the other version of himself. "I'm you; you're me. I don't really get all the science, but it seems there's some kind of endless supply of us out there. Not just you and me; everybody. Like alternate dimensions that go on forever, I guess. And somehow I managed to jump from my dimension to yours without even noticing. Now we're trying to figure out how to get me back where I came from."

Merton's jaw dropped open at the perfectly – okay, sort of – logical explanation. He'd never expected Tommy to step up to the plate like that, but the truth was that his explanation might actually work. It had just enough of the truth in it to make it believable, but it left out the part where Merton had started the whole thing in the first place by making a wish for something he could never have. _Ever_ , he reminded himself harshly as he remembered how close he'd been to giving in to it when Tommy had walked in on them.

"So…you're me."

"Pretty much, yeah. But I don't play football."

And it was kind of strange to watch Tommy literally talking to himself, but it was kind of…hot, too. Merton knew thinking like that was just going to get him into all kinds of trouble, though, so he clamped down hard on the thought until he killed it. He stepped out from behind the desk, keeping his eyes carefully focused on the version of Tommy who would never think of kissing him in a million years. This one was safer, anyway, and he'd learned from long experience how to deal with Tommy when he was confused.

As soon as he got close Tommy reached for him, a familiar hand closing around his bicep. "Merton, can I talk to you for a second?"

Merton nodded helplessly and let Tommy push him toward the door, not daring to look over his shoulder at the other Tommy as his best friend steered him outside and closed the door behind him. As soon as they were outside Tommy turned on him, backing him up against the door. "So this is why you were acting so weird today?"

"I wouldn't say I was acting _weird_ exactly…"

"Merton." The sound of his name in that low growl shut him up fast, and he swallowed hard when he looked up and found Tommy staring at him. "This is why you called me last night too, right?"

Merton nodded, his head brushing against glass as he pressed himself as flat against the door as he could. Tommy was standing way too close to him for comfort, and the combination of all that body heat and Merton's fertile imagination were a recipe for disaster. "I had to make sure it wasn't your idea of a joke."

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

"How was I supposed to tell you? 'Hey, Tommy, I had a really good time last night. Oh, and after you left you showed up again, only it was you from an alternate dimension. You're still back in my bedroom if you want me to introduce you'."

Tommy didn't look amused, but under the circumstances Merton couldn't really blame him. Still, it wasn't his fault – at least not as far as Tommy knew, and if Merton could help it this Tommy would never find out the whole truth. "Okay, I get it. More weirdness falls into our laps, no change there. But how do we get rid of him?"

"Well there's no reason to be hasty," Merton answered, squirming a little against the door in a vain effort to put some more distance between them. "I mean think about it, with two Tommys you'd have time to be the normal football hero type guy you're always talking about, and the other Tommy could do the wolf thing. As long as we made sure you never showed up in the same place at the same time…"

"Merton." His name came out of Tommy's mouth as sort of a sigh, the sound sending a rush of blood to all kinds of inconvenient places. He cursed his teenage hormones when Tommy's hand landed on his shoulder, the warm press of fingers reminding him of the way the other Tommy had touched him right before this Tommy had walked in. He couldn't stop himself from flinching at the touch, but as soon as Tommy frowned and pulled his hand away again Merton wished he'd left it where it was just for a few seconds longer.

"Okay, okay, that probably wouldn't work. Pleasantville's too small, that's the problem. If we lived somewhere like L.A. we might be able to pull it off." Merton stopped talking when he saw just how impatient Tommy was getting, shrugging and flashing his most harmless smile. "Just a thought. Which I'm dismissing completely in favor of finding a way of sending him back where he came from."

"Good," Tommy said, finally straightening up and letting go of Merton. "So where do we start?"

"We? Don't you have someplace to be? That History paper's not going to write itself, you know."

"Merton, give me a break. My twin's in your bedroom, you think I'm leaving here before you figure out a way to send him back where he came from? Not on your life."

He knew he should have seen this coming; the other Tommy was right when he said that he was stubborn, and evidently it was a trait that all his incarnations shared. But they couldn't really do the research they needed to do with this Tommy hanging around, at least not without telling him the rest of the story. "Look, Tommy, I can handle this. It's just a little matter of paradimensional rifts. Like the time we got sucked into that alternate reality where everybody was a Communist. You remember that, right?"

"Yeah. And that's why I'm not going anywhere until we figure this thing out," Tommy answered, his hand closing around Merton's arm again to steer him back into the bedroom. Once the door was closed and locked behind them – and Merton could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he'd remembered to lock it himself when he got home from school – Tommy let go of him again and started toward the computer. "Alright. So what have we got so far?"

~

This was pointless. Merton knew it and so did the other Tommy. The only one who seemed to think they were going to make any headway by researching paradimensional travel was his Tommy, and that was only because he had no idea what they were dealing with. If he stuck around much longer he was going to figure it out, though, because every second that ticked by brought them closer to the inevitable arrival of the Djinn.

It was easy to forget about that detail when he looked up to find himself staring at two versions of his best friend, one of them with his head studiously buried in a book and the other one staring right back at him. His stomach did a little somersault every time he caught Tommy looking at him, but he'd already promised himself that he wasn't going to let anything else happen between them. Even if he somehow managed to convince his Tommy to go home he couldn't let it; he'd already made a big enough mess of things, and no matter how much he liked the idea of keeping this Tommy around he knew he couldn't. There was only so much time he could keep another whole person locked up in his bedroom before somebody noticed, after all, and he knew Tommy well enough to know he wouldn't stay put for long anyway.

When he looked up again one Tommy was still staring at him, but the other Tommy was watching the first Tommy stare at him. His heart crept up into his throat and he coughed hard, slamming the book in front of him a little harder than necessary. "You okay?" one Tommy asked, and Merton was struck by how hard it was to tell them apart when they were sitting right next to each other. In fact, if his Tommy wasn't wearing his letterman jacket Merton wasn't sure he'd remember which one was which. Well, except for the staring.

"I'm fine," he managed. "Look, this isn't getting us anywhere. Tommy, maybe you should go home and get some rest. We've both got homework and…"

He trailed off when he realized neither of them was listening to him. They were both staring over his shoulder, one Tommy wearing a nervous expression and the other one looking thoroughly confused. "What the hell…?"

He was getting a little tired of hearing that, but something told Merton he didn't need to turn around to find out what Tommy was talking about this time. In fact, he could feel the creeping chill working its way up his spine, and even though he didn't feel an immediate tug of want anymore he could tell the Djinn was standing – or floating – right behind him.

"It is time for your second wish," the Djinn said, his voice echoing in Merton's head and sending a fresh shiver down his spine. And this was so bad, because they hadn't had any time to work out what Tommy was supposed to say to the Djinn, and now they were going to have to tell the other Tommy what it was _and_ think up a reason why they left out this part of the story in the first place.

"You didn't grant my first wish," Tommy said, but Merton could tell from his slightly glassy expression that he was having a little trouble fighting the pull of the Djinn. He remembered all too well how hard it was to resist the urge to wish for something frivolous, just to see if the Djinn could really make the impossible happen.

"You wished to find the boy. What happens after the wish is granted is not my concern." The Djinn's voice bored into Merton's skull again, the familiarity of the words making him want to laugh. It was true; the Djinn had granted Tommy's wish right down to the letter, the fact that it hadn't turned out the way Tommy wanted was probably just a bonus.

"I didn't wish to find him. I wished to find my own Merton. The one who's been missing for a week."

"What the hell is going on here?" the other Tommy asked, standing up and glancing from the Djinn to Merton. "Merton, what the hell is that thing?"

"Tell it you need more time," Merton muttered under his breath, his eyes never leaving his own version of Tommy. "Tell it to come back later."

"I'm not ready," the other Tommy answered. "I need more time to think about what to wish for."

For a second Merton thought the Djinn might not take no for an answer this time, but then he felt the chilly, creeping magic start to release its grip on the air around them. "Very well. You have until tomorrow at this time."

When the Djinn was gone all three of them let out an unconscious sigh, their shoulders sagging a little as though they'd just been relieved of a particularly heavy weight. Merton glanced up to find both Tommys still standing side by side, one of them staring at the spot where the Djinn had been and the other staring right at him. It was the first time Tommy had ever looked at him like he didn't know who Merton was, and for a second Merton felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him. He'd worried that making his first wish might cost him his best friend, but until now he'd never worried that trying to fix it would mean losing Tommy.

"Look, Tommy…"

"The truth, Merton. All of it," Tommy said, his voice low and threatening in a way Merton hadn't heard since the time Tommy's evil side escaped from him and wreaked all that havoc. "Starting with what that thing was and why it wants somebody to make a wish."

Merton glanced at the other Tommy, but he just shrugged helplessly and dropped back into his chair. And okay, maybe he deserved to be left out to dry after everything he'd put them all through, but he hadn't really expected the other Tommy to bail on him that quickly. "It was a Djinn," Merton began, forcing himself to meet his Tommy's expectant gaze. "Kind of like a genie, but meaner."

"Meaner than a genie? After what the last one made me do with Becky? How can you get meaner than making me make out with a freshman?"

"You made out with Becky?" the other Tommy interrupted, his expression a mixture of disbelief and disgust that Merton would have found gratifying under any other circumstances. "That's disgusting."

"Hey, it wasn't like I had any choice. She made the wish, not me."

"Is that where you got the idea in the first place?" the other Tommy asked, turning his attention back to Merton. "Because I've gotta tell you, I'm starting to think maybe you should have just stuck with me."

"Wait…what?"

Merton groaned and let his head drop into his hands, blocking out the sounds of Tommy in Stereo long enough to figure out what he was going to do. He wasn't even sure if he cared whether or not they killed each other; at least that would solve a couple of his problems, and then all he had to do was deal with the Djinn and his life would go back to normal. Tommy-free, but at this point maybe that was for the best. He'd made it through the first sixteen and a half years of his life without Tommy, after all, he could do it again.

It was no use; no matter how hard he tried he couldn't block out their voices, and the explanation one Tommy was feeding to the other was just making everything worse. He could hear it in the oppressive silence radiating off his best friend, and he knew if he didn't do something soon that the other Tommy was going to say something Merton wouldn't be able to talk his way out of.

"…not like it's my fault, I mean I thought he was _my_ Merton."

 _Something just like that,_ Merton thought to himself as he looked up just in time to watch his best friend turn on his heel and head for the door. "Tommy, wait," Merton said before he had time to think, pushing his chair back and following the taller boy out of his room. And maybe it was a little melodramatic, but in a way it felt like he was watching Tommy walk right out of his life. He never really thought it would get to this point, but he knew it was his fault and he had to do something to fix it. "Would you wait a second? Please," Merton called as Tommy raced up the steps two at a time.

He expected Tommy to keep going, knowing full well that there was no way Merton could ever keep up with him. So he was surprised when Tommy turned to face him, and he was even more surprised when he found hurt where he'd expected to see anger. "Tommy, let me…"

"Let you explain? Why, so you can make up another lie? Jesus, Merton, I'm not an idiot. You think I didn't see the way he was looking at you? And you…you won't even let me touch you, but you…with him?"

"It's not like that," Merton answered before Tommy's words even registered, but as soon as they did he forgot all about defending his honor, his chastity, and his theoretical heterosexuality. He'd been prepared to claim mistaken identity, to lie his way around the actual wishing part and blame any kissing on big-mouthed version of his best friend waiting inside, but one look at the pain in his best friend's eyes and all his excuses dissolved. "Wait. I won't let you…when did you try to touch me?"

Tommy let out the sigh of someone who'd been suffering for far too long, but some of the tension drained out of him as he leaned back against the concrete stairwell outside Merton's door. "Every time I get anywhere near you lately you start acting weird. You couldn't get away from me fast enough at school today. I thought maybe after last night…but then you took off like you didn't even want to be seen with me. Every time I try to talk to you lately you're distracted; I thought maybe it was college or finals or something, but this…"

"So are you saying…what are you saying exactly?" Merton thought he had a pretty good idea, but he refused to get his hopes up until Tommy spelled it all out for him. And he wished now that he'd been listening when the other Tommy explained how the Djinn got there in the first place, because he had no idea if Tommy knew that he was the one to summon it and make the other Merton disappear in the first place.

"Look, Merton, did you let him kiss you or not?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Before or after you knew he wasn't me?"

This was all starting to get really confusing; all Merton really wanted to do was go lie down, maybe take a couple aspirin for the headache that was steadily building right behind his temples. None of this was going the way it was supposed to go, and now Tommy was looking at him like Merton had just cheated on him. Which wasn't fair at all, really, because it wasn't like he'd ever expected to have a chance with the Tommy standing in front of him right now. It was just a kiss – one little moment of weakness that he'd put an end to before it really even got started. And okay, maybe he'd let the other Tommy kiss him a few times before that, but he hadn't known at the time that he was dealing with alternate realities.

"That's what I thought," Tommy said when Merton didn't answer. He pushed himself off the wall and turned away, and Merton didn't bother trying to stop him. He knew it wouldn't do any good, and they both knew Merton could never keep up with Tommy if he didn't want him to.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there staring at the spot where Tommy had been standing, but when he heard the door open behind him he finally roused himself enough to turn around. It was surreal to look back and see Tommy watching him from the doorway, as though the whole scene had been in his imagination and the real Tommy, his best friend, was waiting for him to come back inside and finish watching _Attack of the Killer Tomatoes II_.

"Where'd he go?"

Merton shrugged in answer to the question, forcing his legs to carry him down the stairs and back into his bedroom. He didn't bother looking at the other Tommy to see his expression; he knew that face so well he could picture it better than his own, and the truth was he didn't really want to see it right now. Looking at this Tommy just reminded him of what he'd done to mess up all their lives, and he wanted to wallow in self-pity for awhile before he got back to the guilt.

For a long time Tommy didn't say anything, but Merton could feel those eyes on him while he sat down at his computer and started reading the Egyptian scholar's thesis on the mythology of Djinn. Tommy had stopped about twenty pages into the document, so Merton scrolled back to the beginning and scanned the basics before he started reading the specifics of the guy's research. It was all theory, of course, but it was all they had to go on for the moment and it was a lot more than he'd been able to come up with on his own.

He was concentrating so hard on not noticing that Tommy was still in the room that he didn't hear the other boy cross the room, and when a hand landed on his shoulder he jumped so high that he nearly knocked the chair over. "Jesus, Merton, calm down," Tommy said, but his hand left Merton's shoulder as quickly as it had landed there. "What the hell happened out there?"

"Nothing."

"Give me a break, this is me, remember? I know you better than that."

"You don't know me at all," Merton reminded him, managing somehow not to wince at the flicker of hurt in Tommy's eyes. "I'm not the Merton you were looking for, remember?"

"I know. It's just…it's hard to remember sometimes, you know?"

He wasn't about to admit it, but Merton knew exactly what he meant. It was the reason he'd let Tommy kiss him last night, and it was the reason it had almost happened again that afternoon. It was also the reason his best friend hated him, and the worst part was that Merton hadn't known until it was too late that he actually had a chance with his Tommy. "Why'd you tell him you kissed me?"

"What, he's mad because of that? I told him it was because I thought you were my Merton. You were there, you heard me."

"I wasn't listening," Merton muttered, looking up from the computer screen long enough to register Tommy's confused expression. "He's not mad because you kissed me. He's mad because I let you."

Tommy rolled his eyes and leaned back against the desk, crossing his arms over his chest. For the first time Merton noticed that this version of Tommy was a little leaner than the one he was used to, and he wondered why he hadn't noticed that before. "Don't tell me this one's a homophobe too."

"No," Merton answered automatically, shaking his head at the thought that Tommy would be freaked out at the idea of him being gay. That wasn't it, was it? He hadn't gotten that impression, anyway, but Tommy had never come right out and said that he was upset because he was jealous. "I don't think so."

"Yeah, well, whatever his problem is, this'll be easier if he's not here. At least this way we don't have to worry about what we say in front of him."

"What are you talking about?" Merton asked, glancing warily at the other boy as Tommy grinned at him.

"Geez, you really did zone out for awhile there, didn't you?" Tommy said. "If you'd been listening you'd know I didn't tell him about the wishes you made. I just told him I found the Djinn's bottle by accident and used it to find you. I didn't tell him how you disappeared in the first place. I guess he was too freaked out at the idea of us making out to ask."

Merton opened his mouth to protest the use of the term 'making out', but he thought better of it when he caught Tommy's expression. Besides, talking about making out with either Tommy wasn't going to get them anywhere; it wasn't going to get this Tommy back where he belonged, and it wasn't going to get either of them their best friend back. "Look, maybe we should just concentrate on figuring out what happened to the other Merton and how to get rid of the Djinn."

"Listen, Merton, I didn't mean…"

Tommy stopped talking when the door leading up to the first floor opened, and Becky called down the stairs. "Freaker, dinner!"

Merton rolled his eyes and stood up, pausing long enough to glance at Tommy. "I'll bring you something to eat."

"Thanks," Tommy called after him, settling into the chair he'd just vacated and turning his attention back to the computer.

~

These constant interruptions weren't helping him get anywhere, Merton mused as he carried a plate of food downstairs. It had taken some work to make Tommy a plate without his parents noticing and asking what he was doing, but he managed to distract them long enough to sneak it out of the kitchen and back to his room. When he reached the bottom of the stairs he realized he'd forgotten to grab a fork, and he rolled his eyes at himself and looked over at the spot where he'd left Tommy. "I have to run back up…"

That was as far as he got before he realized the room was empty. He set the plate down on the nearest flat surface and looked in the bathroom, but there was no sign of Tommy. Panic rose up in his throat as he ran down the possibilities of what could have happened to the other boy; maybe the Djinn had come back and he'd wished himself home, or maybe…maybe he'd done something idiotic and so much like something Tommy would do that he knew exactly what happened the second he thought of it. He shook his head and let himself out of the house, muttering about testosterone and juvenile male posturing as he started the hearse and drove over to Tommy's house.

Less than a minute after he rang Tommy's doorbell the door swung open, and Tommy stepped aside to let him in without a word. Merton knew then that he was right, and he shook his head as he followed Tommy up the stairs to his room. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked as soon as Tommy closed his bedroom door behind them, keeping his voice down in case someone besides Dean was home.

The Tommy sitting on the bed shrugged and cast a guilty glance at the Tommy still standing next to Merton. "I figured if he knew half the story he might as well hear the whole thing." He stood up and ran his hands through his hair in a gesture that Merton had seen a thousand times before.

"What if somebody saw you two together? What about your parents?" Merton asked, glancing at the Tommy still standing just behind him.

He shrugged and stepped a little further into his room, exchanging a quick glance with his doppelganger before he answered. "It's not like I knew he was coming over. He just walked in, what was I supposed to do?"

"Look, anybody that saw me would just assume I was supposed to be here, right? I do live here, after all," the other Tommy said, grinning when they both looked at him. "I'm going back to Merton's place to see if I can figure out how to fix this mess. If you guys want to help me, fine. If not, then I'll do it myself. Okay?"

Tommy nodded once, and the other Tommy grinned and stepped around Merton to pull open the door. "So maybe I'll see you guys later."

He slipped out the door and pulled it closed again, leaving Merton staring open-mouthed at the space where he'd just been standing. "So…you guys are like friends now?" he heard himself ask, but his voice sounded kind of shaky and far-away.

"We're the same person, I don't know if we can be friends," Tommy answered. He sank down onto the edge of his bed, and this time Merton could see clearly that his shoulders were just a little broader than the other boy's.

"You're not the same person." Merton took a few tentative steps forward, hesitating as he tried to decide whether or not he had the right to sit down next to Tommy. The other boy hadn't ordered him out of the room yet, though, so he decided to take that as a good sign. Then Tommy looked up at him, and Merton knew if he didn't sit down his legs were going to give out on him. He left enough space between them to remind him to keep his hands to himself, curling his fingers into his palms just in case they got any ideas of their own. "He's not you, Tommy. The similarities are striking, sure, but there are differences."

"Is he really in drama?"

Merton stole a glance at Tommy, grinning at the other boy's bemused expression. "Yeah."

"He's still a werewolf, though, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason," Tommy answered, and Merton made a mental note to press the other boy for more information at some point. He let it go for the moment, though, swallowing against the flutter of nerves in his stomach before he inched a little closer to the other boy.

"So he told you…everything?"

Tommy nodded, but his gaze was locked on his hands and Merton couldn't tell what he was thinking. Then he looked up and Merton's breath caught in his throat. "Why didn't you just say something?"

Merton wanted to laugh at that; he wanted to tell Tommy all the reasons he'd catalogued over the past few months for why he hadn't said anything, starting with the girls and ending with the fact that Tommy was the star of the football team. The star of the school, really, and Merton knew how lucky he was that Tommy needed him at all. Hoping for something like this – it was too much, he'd always known that. He'd gone and pressed his luck anyway because he was selfish and stupid, and it had turned into an even bigger mess than even he could have imagined.

"So you and he…I mean he spent the night at your place last night, right?"

Merton's face turned bright red instantly, and he knew he was shaking his head hard enough to make himself dizzy but he couldn't stop. "Nothing happened. Just the one kiss, I swear. I wouldn't…God, Tommy, I'm not that pathetic."

Just like that the space between them disappeared, then Tommy's hands were on him, touching his face and his hair. And the funny thing was that they felt like they belonged there, even though this Tommy's touch was completely different than the other Tommy's had been. This Tommy – his Tommy – was gentle, a little hesitant maybe, like he was afraid he was going to break Merton if he pressed too hard in just the wrong spot. It was nothing like the easy familiarity the other Tommy had touched him with, and Merton loved it. He loved the fact that Tommy was just as scared as he was, because that meant this wasn't just his imagination.

"I couldn't tell you," Merton said, his eyes closed and his face turned into the other boy's hand. "If I was wrong…you're my best friend, Tommy."

"I'm still your best friend," Tommy answered, his breath warm against Merton's cheek. "God, Merton…"

Merton opened his eyes to find Tommy watching him, his features a little distorted from this close up but still undeniably the Tommy he'd spent the past eight months obsessing over. Longer than that, really, if he was being honest, but Tommy didn't need to know that. Not unless he asked, anyway, because Merton was a smart guy and he'd learned his lesson this time. He was never going to lie to Tommy again, no matter what he stood to lose.

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against the other boy's, then again as he tried to decide whether or not it was his imagination or if this Tommy's lips were softer. When Tommy's hand tightened in his hair he lost his train of thought, though, the whole world dissolving into the sensation of Tommy's mouth on his and Tommy's skin under his hands. It took him a little while to realize he had his hands under Tommy's shirt, but when the other boy groaned against his mouth he flushed and pulled back far enough to pant for breath. They stayed that way for endless moments, Tommy's breath hot against his neck and his hands still moving in slow circles on Merton's back. Tommy's skin was irresistible, and Merton found himself sliding his palms across the planes of the other boy's back as though it was his newest addiction.

"We have to help him," Tommy whispered against his ear, sending a shiver of unfocused longing down Merton's spine. He felt himself nod blindly in agreement with whatever Tommy was saying, although he wasn't sure he even understood the words. "If it was you that disappeared…"

"Oh." _Oh_. "Yeah. This whole mess is my fault," Merton said, realizing it was the first time he'd said the words out loud. He'd known since last night that the entire thing was his fault, but until he said it out loud it hadn't really seemed that bad.

"It's alright, Merton, we'll straighten it out," Tommy answered. His lips brushed against Merton's neck as he spoke, and Merton shivered and burrowed instinctively closer to Tommy. He knew this wasn't exactly what Tommy had meant by helping, but the thought of letting go now was too overwhelming to consider. All he wanted to do was explore every inch of the other boy's skin; he wanted to crawl inside all that warmth and stay there forever, never let Tommy go again if he didn't have to.

Tommy started to pull away, but just before Merton panicked and pulled him close again the other boy leaned forward, pressing his lips to Merton's in a hard, almost desperate kiss. Merton's hands left Tommy's back to wrap around his neck, pulling him even closer as he tried to put everything he couldn't say into the kiss. He wasn't sure if Tommy understood any of it, but when the other boy pulled back and smiled he decided it didn't really matter. He let Tommy pull him to his feet, savoring the feeling of his best friend's hand in his. It wasn't the first time Tommy had grabbed his hand, but it was the first time he could let himself believe it meant anything. Funnily enough that made a difference, and he grinned in spite of himself as he followed Tommy back down the stairs and out to his car.

When they walked back into the Lair Merton expected to find the other Tommy still at the computer, poring through the 200-page thesis he'd stumbled onto. He knew it was going to take them all night to get through the thing, but if there was anything useful in there at all it would be worth losing a night's sleep. Only Tommy wasn't at the computer when they walked in; instead he was sitting on the edge of Merton's bed, his head in his hands.

"What's wrong with you?" the Tommy still standing behind him asked, the slight edge in his voice tempered with more than a little fear.

"I think I know what happened to Merton," the other Tommy answered, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the computer. "It's all there."

Merton crossed the room and glanced at the screen; it was still on the thesis about Djinn mythology, and as he began to read the page Tommy had left it on he felt his heart sink into his stomach. "This can't be right," he said, glancing up at the two Tommys before he turned back to the screen. "It says right here, the one who makes the wishes sacrifices his soul. I made the wishes, if anybody sacrificed anything it should be me."

"Yeah, but you wished the Djinn back into that bottle at Fong's before he could make you pay up," Tommy answered. "He already had Merton, right? I mean he had to do something with him while you were living his life. So he probably just kept him. Even trade."

Merton knew without having it spelled out for him that Tommy was right, but he didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe any of it, because that meant he really had cost that other version of himself his life. "There has to be a way to get him back," Merton said, glancing hopefully at the Tommy still standing next to the door. "There has to be a way to banish the Djinn and get his soul released, right?"

"Merton, come on. Even if there was…we're talking about his soul. Which means he's already…"

He didn't say the word out loud, but Merton flinched just as though he had. He felt like a murderer; he was, in a way, and even the fact that he hadn't meant for any of this to happen didn't make him feel any better. Still, there had to be something they could do, because the Djinn would be back eventually and this time he'd want Tommy's soul.

"I've gotta go after him."

And that was exactly what they needed; a plan, because plans were good and they always worked out in the end. Any time he and Tommy and Lori came up with a plan to defeat the bad guys it always worked out one way or the other, so this time shouldn't be any different. "Right. We just have to figure out where the Djinn hangs out, and then we figure out how to get there…"

"Not us. Just me," the other Tommy interrupted, glancing back and forth between the two of them until he was sure his meaning had started to sink in. "It's the only way."

"You can't," Merton said, panic rising in his throat as he realized what Tommy was saying. This was all wrong, because he'd only used one of his wishes and if they just tried hard enough he knew they could come up with a way to fool the Djinn into giving up the other Merton. It always worked in the movies, and he was smarter than any of those idiots writing scripts in Hollywood. "This is crazy, you can't just give up."

He glanced at his Tommy for help, but the other boy just shrugged. "Merton, maybe…"

"No, there's gotta be a way. You still have two wishes. There's got to be an answer; maybe if we can get a hold of the guy who wrote the thesis…"

"That's all just theories and fairytales, Merton," the other Tommy said, holding up a hand when Merton started to interrupt him. "No, listen. The guy that wrote all that stuff doesn't even believe in it. You think he actually expected anybody to run into a real live Djinn? There's no way out of this."

"No," Merton said again, but this time guilt eclipsed the panic and he was surprised at how calm his own voice sounded. "This is all my fault. I should be the one to go."

"No way." Their voices were almost identical, but Merton still recognized the sound of his best friend right on the edge of panic. He looked up to find Tommy moving toward him, and a second later familiar hands were gripping his shoulders. "Now's a really lousy time to start acting like the hero, Merton."

"He's right," the other Tommy said, and he sounded so resigned that Merton knew there was no way he'd be able to talk him out of it. "Besides, I didn't get myself into this mess to spend the rest of my life hanging around with myself. No offense."

"None taken," Tommy answered, looking away from Merton long enough to smile sadly at the other boy.

"At least this way we'll be together, you know?" the other Tommy added, returning Tommy's smile with a wry grin.

There was a strange moment of silence while the two of them stared at each other, and Merton got the definite feeling that they'd found some way to communicate without words in the last five minutes. Then his Tommy nodded and turned back to him, and Merton could tell by both their expressions that he'd never know what had just happened. He couldn't believe they were both ready to give up so easily; at the very least Tommy would have tried to kick the Djinn's ass before he decided it was a battle they couldn't win, but this was the first time they'd been faced with something they couldn't defeat. "There's got to be something we can do," he said, more to himself than to either of them. There had to be something he was missing, some piece of the puzzle that would make everything clear.

"I just wish I could see him one more time."

Before Merton could even react he felt the air in the room change, charging with an almost palpable electricity. A second later the Djinn was right in front of both Tommys, and for one terrifying second Merton was afraid he'd take the wrong one. As soon as he thought it he felt guilty, but he still breathed a sigh of relief when the Djinn turned toward the Tommy still sitting on the edge of his bed. "Done," it said, and a second later the Djinn and Tommy were gone.

~

Merton woke up surrounded by something warm and soft, and it took him a few minutes to work out where he was. Once he woke up completely he realized he was in his bed, a strong arm slung over his waist and a solid wall of muscle pressed against his back. A warm mouth nuzzled his neck and muttered something incoherent, but Merton recognized the sound of Tommy's voice as easily as he recognized his best friend's scent. He didn't remember falling asleep with the other boy, but he could definitely get used to waking up next to him.

It had happened before, like right after they defeated the Sandman and they were so tired that they passed out on his bed. He hadn't woken up with Tommy draped over him that time, though, and there definitely hadn't been any nuzzling of his ear or neck region. As he woke up more his memory began to kick back in, and he reached up with the arm that wasn't trapped under Tommy's to press his fingers to his mouth. And that had been a pretty weird dream, complete with an extra Tommy and a cameo appearance from the Djinn. He'd had nightmares about that thing since he wished it away, but this was the most vivid so far.

Slowly he eased out from under Tommy's arm, looking down at the other boy as he tried to remember how they'd ended up in his bed. They were both still wearing all their clothes, so he was pretty sure nothing had really happened. The last thing he remembered…he glanced over at his computer, frowning at the small green light still blinking on the front of the tower. He always turned his computer off at night, but last night…but that was part of the dream too, wasn't it?

When he stood up his legs felt like they were made of lead, and he had to force himself to cross the room and look at the computer screen. As soon as he saw it the whole night came flooding back to him; standing in the middle of his room, staring at the spot where that…thing had been just before it took Tommy and disappeared. He remembered screaming or possibly crying, and there was definitely some kind of muscle spasm because he remembered Tommy having to catch him before he fell. The moments after that were sort of a blur, but he could remember Tommy holding onto him and telling him it wasn't his fault.

Only it was his fault, which was why he'd sat at his computer and scoured that stupid thesis for answers until finally he'd passed out from sheer exhaustion. Tommy had passed out on his bed hours before he even thought about going to sleep, but he must have woken up at some point and either dragged or carried Merton to bed. His shoes were off, anyway, and he knew he hadn't done that on his own.

He sank into the chair behind his desk and reached for the mouse, scrolling through a couple more pages of the thesis without really seeing them. Last night he'd been so sure that the other Tommy would reappear eventually, that as soon as his wish was fulfilled that he'd show up again and give them the missing piece they needed to solve the puzzle. He'd been so positive they could find a way to defeat the Djinn, tack some big, splashy ending onto the whole mess and get everybody back safe and sound where they belonged.

That was the way it was supposed to happen.

A sound from across the room made him look up, and his heart skipped a beat when he found Tommy watching him. The other boy glanced at the clock and then back at Merton, letting out a weary sigh and reaching up to scrub at his hair with the palm of one hand. "Merton…"

"They're not coming back, are they?"

"No," Tommy answered. He sounded as sad as Merton felt, but how could he be? He wasn't the one who'd set all this in motion and cost two people their lives because he was too scared to admit to his best friend how he felt. He wasn't the one who had to live with this for the rest of his life. "Look, Merton, he chose to make that first wish. There was nothing you could do."

"But we didn't even try," Merton said, and he didn't even care that he was whining. He wanted to lash out, to break something or hit something hard enough to draw blood. He wanted to _do_ something, anything besides sit here and accept it.

"Merton, that thing…whatever it was, it wasn't just some random bad guy trying to stir up a little trouble. That thing meant business; opening that bottle was just like signing a contract, once you did you had to play the game. You outsmarted it the first time, but you didn't know all the rules. It wasn't your fault."

Tommy stood up and crossed the room to stop next to him, reaching over him to turn off the computer before he pulled Merton out of his chair and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy. Merton wanted to protest, to push Tommy away and tell him he wasn't worth Tommy's affection. He didn't deserve it, not after everything he'd done to all of them. He hadn't meant any of it and if he could he'd take it all back, but this wasn't a movie and he wasn't going to get a happy ending. He let Tommy lead him back to bed and pull him down into the other boy's body heat, but no matter how close he got he had a feeling he was never going to be warm again.


End file.
